1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to using a cover to protect seats including vehicle seats and other furniture.
2. Description of Prior Art
The closest known prior art are car seat covers. Existing car seat covers have been primarily designed to improve comfort or appearance or to provide a protective barrier for the seat. A sheepskin seat cover is an example of a seat cover designed to improve comfort. Wooden bead and wire mesh seat covers are seat covers designed to improve comfort. A universal fit velour seat cover is an example of a seat cover designed to improve appearance and provide a measure of protection to the car seat. None of these seat covers provides an effective solution to protecting the seat from sweat, water, snow, mud, dirt and other contaminants and yet is easy to install and remove, is washable, comfortable, resists odors, is easy to manufacture, seldom needs laundering, and is aesthetically pleasing.
A sheepskin or cloth seat cover will not protect the car seat from sweat or moisture that can soak through the seat cover to the car seat. Furthermore, since they absorb moisture they will foster odors. Wooden bead or wire mesh seat covers do not protect the underlying car seat from moisture, sweat, snow, mud, dirt, or other contaminants.
Plastic film seat covers, such as described by Keiswetter in U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,376, protect the seat from moisture, sweat, dirt and other contaminants, however they are not comfortable or aesthetically pleasing.
Some cloth car seat covers are treated with Scotchguard or other treatments to repel water. This will help, but will not prevent water or sweat from passing through the seat cover. Water or sweat that passes through the seat cover will lead to deterioration of the seat and cause odor problems.
Many existing car seat covers, such as cloth or sheepskin seat covers, will have odor problems if they are saturated with sweat or water because they are not designed to avoid the absorption of moisture. After they absorb moisture, they have no mechanism for stopping the growth of microorganisms that lead to odor problems. Nor are they quick drying.
Most existing car seat covers are cumbersome to install and remove. By implementing a series of hooks, straps, flaps, and drawstrings that are designed to securely attach the seat cover to the seat they become difficult to install and remove. some seat covers take as long as a half-hour to install or remove. Furthermore, they are not signed to be used on a variety of seats other than vehicle seats or on a flat surface.
Jachmich in U.S. Pat. No. 5,618,082 describes a terry cloth seat cover that can be quickly installed and removed from an automotive seat. Since this seat cover is not waterproof it will not adequately protect the seat from sweat, moisture, snow, mud, oil or other contaminants that may soak through the terry cloth. Furthermore, since the seat cover is designed with an opening to go around the headrest, the headrest is not protected from sweat, moisture and other contaminants.
Hanley in U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,925 describes a waterproof, breathable seat cover that protects the seat, however it is not simple to manufacture. The patent specifies an absorbent upper layer that will increase drying time for the product, will foster odors and will require frequent washings. Therefore, the cover envisioned by Hanley will not be convenient or readily available because it will need to be removed from the vehicle due to the accumulation of odors especially when used after physical exertion or during hot or humid weather. Furthermore, by requiring the construction of a complex three-layer design, material costs and the amount of labor required to manufacture the seat cover are excessive.
Therefore, a seat cover does not exist which is comfortable, attractive, easy to use, easy to manufacture, waterproof, breathable, non-absorbent, quick-drying, odor-resistant and avoids the need for laundering.
A seat cover comprising a water-impermeable/gas-permeable material that is hydrophobic and non-absorbent. In the preferred embodiment, a pocket at the top of the seat cover is used to attach the seat cover to the back of a seat.
To provide a cover which can be used to protect a seat from sweat, dirt, moisture, snow, mud and other contaminants. The cover is liquid impermeable to protect the seat. The cover is gas-permeable to make the cover more comfortable and to facilitate evaporation of any surface moisture when cover is bunched or folded for storage. Since the cover is gas-permeable, the user will be comfortable even when using the cover while wet or sweaty. The cover is quick and easy to use. Furthermore, the material is hydrophobic and non-absorbent, which prevents odors by substantially eliminating the amount of retained moisture in order to reduce the growth of microorganisms. The material may be treated with an anti-microbial agent. The cover will be machine-washable. The cover can be used to protect car seats, chair seats, sofas, beds or carpets. It can also be placed on dirty or wet objects in order to protect the user from getting dirty or wet, for example it could be placed on the ground.